My must have mattes!

As I've said before I have oily skin and am prone to oil slicks on my face! To combat this I use a whole host of matte finishing products. My favourites are:

1. MAC Studio fix concealer. I love this concealer. It is thick and gives a flawless finish to the skin. It is also a full coverage concealer which covers anything I may have on my face. Having oily skin I am prone to breakouts to a good concealer is a must. With this one I find it doesn't slide around my face and it stays on beautifully through out the day. It does crease a small amount but I so far haven't found a great full coverage concealer that doesn't to some extent. It doesn't dry shiney or gooey. A small amount really covers an awful lot. A small swipe can completely do under my eyes and round my nose. (£14.50 at MAC counters or online. Find them in House of Fraser and selected Debanhams.)
2. Rimmel stay Matte pressed powder. I love this powder, it isn't chalky or cakey on my skin and I only need to load my brush two to three times to do my whole face and neck area. This powder keeps my foundation set all day and soaks up any unwanted oil. It keeps my skin so soft as well. (£3.99 most chemists, drug stores and super markets)
3. Maybelline Dream Matte Mouse, This is a holy grail product for me. I could not live my life without it. For me it keeps my skin looking flawless while keeping me shine free. I know alot of other bloggers hate this foundation but I simply Love it. The colour is a perfect match for my skin tone and one jar lasts me around a month. I blend it in with my real techniques expert face brush. It doesn't sit in my pores or dry my skin out. I can put this on early morning and it still looks matte and perfect when I arrive home some hours later. Even on a night out it stays put. (£7:69 Superdrug, Boots and selected independent chemists)

A few other products to keep my skin matte

Urban Decays De Slick: This sets my skin perfectly and keeps the shine at bay. You can also use this to prime the skin by spraying onto your skin before starting your make up routine. 

Urban Decays Eden primer potion: This keeps my eye lids oil free. Occasionally I find that my eye lids can become rather oily and my eye make up separates leaving greasy lines. Using Eden which is a mattifying primer potion this doesnt happen. It keeps my shadow looking exactly how I applied it that morning. With no creasing or with it sliding off. 

Using all these products together I find I can achieve a better standard of make up. My make up looks better and stays on my skin much better and for much longer. It also helps keep breakouts to a minimum as I rarely swap my basic make up products. 

Do you have oily skin? What products do you swear by? Which would you recommend to me? Let me know -[ 

xoxo - Lizzy

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Sleek Contouring Kit.

I have been looking for a perfect contouring kit for a while, i usually would use a bronzer and either a powder high lighter or a shimmery pale eye shadow, but while I was scanning the shelves of my local drugstore I came across this sleek complete contouring kit. I picked up Light which is great for lighter skin tones like mine. Sleek was originally a collection for women of colour. I used to work in an independent beauty boutique where we had a small sleek stand and alot of the products didn't come in lighter colours. Now the brand has exploded and everyone whos a bit savvy grabs their stuff while its around. (This product has been out of stock in a number of stores for a little while now!)

Sleek contouring palette £9.99

The packaging for this product is divine! It looks almost like a bar of chocolate not a make up palette. It is a nice sized compact. It would easily slip into someones hand bag for the night.

I can see why they have named the company sleek, as all the products are in a nice sleek package. The palette itself is nice and easy to open. So all products are protected from accidental dropping.

The palette has great sized products inside and a big mirror which is always handy so you can contour on the move. The colours are perfect for fair skin like mine. The contouring colour is a matte shade which is great news when contouring.  The high light shade and the blush are shimmer shades.

top to bottom: contour shade, highlight shade, blush shade.

The blush shade is a beautiful burnt coppery orange. I find it to be quite reminiscent of urban decays chopper eye shadow. It does look beautiful when worn. I go get a few compliments on the colour when I'm out and about. The high light is also a shimmery shade in a beautiful ivory colour. This shade catches the light perfectly when your out and about.

All three powders are beautifully soft and blend like a dream on your skin. I use a large angled blush brush to blend these and they look amazing. Together they make my cheeks pop. The highlight and contour also look fab with any other blusher you may have you don't need to use the one in this palette. All three products together give the skin a natural glow

Since buying this I am putting the blush palette they do on my wish list!

Do you use sleek? What products do you swear by? Let me know =]

xoxo - Lizzy

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Rimmel Stay Matte

I have oily skin so am constantly on a mission for products that keep my skin nice and matte and keep the oil slick away! Powder is the easiest thing to do this with. With a good powder I can be a bit naughty and use a liquid foundation. My all time favorite powder is Rimmel's stay matte.

Rimmel star matte powder £3.99

This powder is great for people with oily skin like mine. Using this I am sheen free all day. They have a wide range of colours to suit every skin tone as well as a translucent.

I'm quite pale in the winter I'm an NC20 so I use peach glow, which is a beautiful colour. It gives the skin a subtle glow without being too over powering, it doesn't change the colour of my foundation much at all. The one thing I love about this powder is yes at £3.99 it is pretty cheap but you don't get the usual cheap characteristics, the powder doesn't create alot of dust, it isn't chalky on the skin. It glides on effortlessly and a little goes a long way. Its a really easy powder to buff into the skin.

Do you use Rimmels stay matte? Found any other powders which keep your skin matte all day? Let me know!

xoxo - Lizzy

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